Vangelis Quotes Page 2

“My main language was music, and my teacher was nature.”

“Mythology, science, space exploration, these are subjects that have fascinated me since my early childhood. And they were always connected somehow with the music I write.”

“Nobody proposed me anything to do with the Olympics. Nothing. Maybe the Olympics have become too much of a supermarket now. The other athletics events have more of the spirit of the Olympics.”

“People do not hear or see the same thing.”

“Scientifically, believe it or not, music drives everything, because music equals universe and universe equals music.”

“Sound is sound and vibration is vibration, whether from an electronic source or an acoustic instrument. The way we use these sources is the key in order to define the required musical result. Without neglecting the acoustic conventional instruments, I spend a fair amount of time dealing with the electronic sources of sound. But please do not think computers! Computers are extremely helpful and amazing for a multitude of scientific areas, but for me, when it comes to creation, they are insufficient and slow. Therefore all of my efforts are to stay away from that beast.”

“Success is sweet and treacherous.”

“The avant-garde feel important, but they hardly understand what they're doing.”

“The frequencies that I use are very important. The music has a real message inside. I must be very careful with sound. The sound is my life. My ear is completely aware. I spontaneously listen to all the sounds around me. For example, a frequency of approximately 30 cycles just passes, there. If we slow down sound it can cause sickness, and if we amplify it, it could destroy a wall.”

“The more successful you become, the more you become a product of something that generates money. Instead of being able to move forward freely and do what you really wish, you find yourself stuck and obliged to repeat yourself and your previous success.”

“The negative aspect of live work is that the audience expects to be entertained, and not only that, the record company and the promoters expect you to be successful.”

“The New Age music gave the opportunity for untalented people to make very boring music.”

“The number of interviews I've ever given could be counted on the fingers of my hands.”

“The source is electronic, but what you do with it is the same as with acoustic instruments.”

“The voice, for me, is probably the best instrument, but, on the other hand, when a person sings words they immediately limit themselves to a certain category of people, to a particular dialect.”

“There are cases in which a film can stand on its own without music, but if music is used, it's better for it to touch the soul and create emotions that the rest of the film cannot do. Music should continue emotions where words finish. Unfortunately most films are flooded with music, due to mediocre scripts and to producers' and directors' lack of talent.”

“We are living in a cultural dark age of musical pollution. You put the radio on, and five minutes later you need an aspirin.”

“We're going through a sound pollution. Not only because we have cars and heavy industry but I think radio is a tremendous pollution as well.”

“Whatever we find on Mars, the doors will be open to the next Odyssey, to something so many have instinctually felt for so long, something which through music I remember – that at the dawn of creation the seeds of life were likely scattered far and wide across the endless skies, and that science will continue to show us how we are connected, no different than the universe itself.”

“When I’m writing music for a film, inspiration will come from the subject matter and visual images, because I don’t agree to any offers of film work unless I believe I can add another dimension to the film. But if l’m writing music purely for myself, inspiration comes naturally, from everything around.”

“You can never repeat certain things. It's only once in a lifetime.”